A World Without Superman: The Death of Superboy
by Superfan2
Summary: Clark/Superboy is planning a hope filled future. He is about to move to Metropolis and make his debut as Superman, Lana and he are falling in love and his enemies are in prison or on the run. Based in part on the 1990s Superboy TV series which originally was to end with Luthor killing off Superboy. There is, too, a nod to S:TM. Reviews are much appreciated, good or bad.
1. Superboy To Superman

The past six months of Clark's life had been the happiest time of that life.

The mega-disasters he had fearlessly confronted had been few and far between. His enemies were either in prison or on the run - far away from Central City as he confirmed through regular night patrols.

The Threesome were safely in prison. Metallo, Odessa and, of course, Lex Luthor. Despite their planning and their powers/knowledge, their "final" attack on him had failed. Kryptonite and sonic devices notwithstanding. Funny Clark thought to himself – at such a young age to have so many fierce enemies. But that was part of what he had taken on upon becoming Superboy and he would never shirk from that role. Never fail to use his special gifts to help humanity.

More important, Clark and Lana were falling in love. No deceptions, Lana had figured out Clark was Superboy a few months ago. Lana was his first true love and, luckily for him he thought, he was hers.

Andy had moved to Capitol City and so had TJ who was working for the local paper. TJ had in fact been offered a job at the Daily Planet in Metropolis. He had convinced Clark to seriously pursue a career in journalism. Which Clark had decided to do. He applied for a job in the online/internet department of the Daily Planet and gotten an interview. The interview with Perry White had gone well but the one with Lois Lane not so. Clark had left the Daily Planet assuming he wouldn't get the job. But a day later an offer was made

Clark accepting the offer meant moving to Metropolis in a few months when his internship at the Department of Paranormal Affairs ended. Fortunately, Lana had been offered a job at Merto University and she too would be moving.

Finally, after long talks with his parents and Lana, Clark had decided it was time for Superboy to become a man, Superman. That debut would take place in Metropolis.

There had been many lighter moments recently. Lana thought he needed some kind of change to the suit to signify his coming of age as Superman. They came up with ideas but none really worked. Well one worked for Lana. She thought the red underwear on the outside should go. He'd be taken more seriously, she argued, while getting little friendly digs in about the red trunks. To please Lana, though he didn't like the idea, Clark had tried the suit on sans the red trunks in the privacy of his apartment. But without them, the already too revealing suit was even more so. He could just hear Leno coming up with lines like "well, we know where he got the name Superman from" or "the meggings industry has a new poster boy - Superman". Actually, despite what others might think, Clark had a modest streak and, after seeing himself in the suit in the mirror, he decided the trunks would stay - on the outside. He'd rather be made fun of for wearing his underwear on the outside than become the butt of lewd late night TV jokes.

There were some serious moments too as they prepared for the Metropolis move. Lana was concerned, and so too his parents, that the big city meant greater threats to him from powerful criminals. Clark was invulnerable though, he had reassured them. Nothing, no one could hurt him. Even Luthor – now that the last piece of kryptonite known of had been safely hurled into space. The few pieces remaining on Earth were either locked away in Professor Peterson's lab in Smallville or in a locked, lead-lined box he kept in a hidden closet in his apartment.

Just to be on the safe side, Professor Peterson had been studying meteorite records from the time Kal's spaceship arrived in Smallville. The only area left unchecked was Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Clark, as Superboy, would personally check out Addis Ababa in the near future.

Only Clark, Peterson and Luthor knew how deadly kryptonite radiation is to Superboy. Clark had downplayed it with his parents and Lana so as not to worry them, but Professor Peterson had determined that less than an hour of exposure to the radiation, at close range, would be fatal. Inducing a blood poisoning. Which is why he turned green when exposed for a short period. His red blood cells turning green. Profuse sweating occurred immediately and, within minutes of that, his veins started to swell to many times their normal size as his body desperately tried to eliminate the toxin. Professor Peterson had surmised he'd succumb to massive organ failure as his red blood cells were totally eliminated. The radioactive element literally drained Superboy's life-force. This was why, according to Professor Peterson, the normally dull green kryptonite glowed a brilliant emerald color when it was near Superboy.

Besides Professor Peterson, only Luthor and Metallo had seen the devastating effect the kryptonite had on him, how it "reacted" when it was close to the Boy of Steel - both had seen his skin start to turn green on more than one occasion and Luthor had sarcastically commented on the "pretty emerald glow" the rocks gave off when near Superboy. Only Luthor understood what the radiation was doing to Superboy's body, and it's why Clark feared Luthor only among his many enemies - though he would never admit that to anyone. Even Lana.

But, as far as he knew, other than kryptonite, nothing could kill him. Mega-weapons like Luthor's missles which had layed him low a few years back hurt, but they could not kill him. The sonic device Luthor had used on him hurt like hell and disoriented him but, as Superboy, he now carried a pair of ear-plugs, made of the same material as his boots, inside his belt buckle. Basically nullifying his susceptibility to extreme high frequency sonic waves.

But, unbeknownst to the young super-hero, the Gods were conspiring against him even now.

Though he had not thought it out to it's logical conclusion, he had learned a year earlier that there were multiple dimensions/worlds. Superboys existed in all of them. But their stories were different. The Sovereign was a Superboy turned evil. And the young Superboy who had killed Luthor in another dimension, was totally different from him. Clark would never kill - even Luthor.

What he didn't seem to consider was that all these worlds did not have a Superman. At least the 2 he had visited. The Lana of Sovereign's universe had killed the Sovereign and herself in a massive kryptonite explosion. Clark had barely escaped the backblow from that explosion. The jaded Superboy had helped him escape the blast. Clark assumed/hoped he had survived – what he didn't know was that, like Sovereign, that Superboy was killed by the aftereffects of the explosion. Even not knowing that, Clark knew this "killer" Superboy had decided to give up his superhero role for good. Two worlds, then, without a Superman.

What he also didn't know was that Luthor knew of Professor Peterson's identification of Addis Ababa as potentially having experienced a kryptonite meteor shower. Luthor, though in prison, had directed his new partner Asabi to fly to Ethiopia months ago. Asabi had found a dozen baseball sized pieces of kryptonite and they were now safely hidden away by Asabi waiting for the right time.

Ironically, in a few weeks, Superboy would fly to Ethiopia and find nothing. Giving him a false sense of security that would, in the end, be his downfall.

Though in prison, the Gods seemed to look favorably on Luthor. Nick Knack was serving a sentence in the same prison. His "toys", as always, were more than that. They were deadly micro-weapons. He and Superboy had clashed and some of those toy weapons were used against the Boy of Steel. Even though they couldn't do permanent harm to Superboy, Superboy had flinched and felt stings on his skin when Nick used his most powerful devices against Superboy.

It was Nick who had found an alien metal stronger than anything on Earth. It wasn't from Krypton but, even so, it was so strong that Superboy was unable to break free from it. Nick had proved that the time he tricked Superboy - managing to get restrains made of the metal onto his hands and feet. Luthor had been made aware of the alien metal and where the restraints were hidden.

For Nick, befriending Luthor - the enemy of my enemy is my friend - was natural and easy to do. Luthor played Nick like a fiddle, getting him to reveal what he knew about Superboy as well as giving him access to extremely sophisticated communication and monitoring devices.

Luthor had a trace put on Professor Peterson using one of Nick's devices and that is how he had found out about the likely presence of kryptonite in Ethiopia.

But, sweetest of all, Luthor had monitoring devices put in Lana and Clark's apartments. Luthor knew – Clark Kent was Superboy. Information he would share with no one and certainly not Nick Knack.

The monitoring devices were originally made to prevent detection by Superboy, so Clark was never aware of them. Even as he and Lana spoke of their future in Metropolis and of the debut of Superman to the world, Luthor was listening.

So, as Clark dreamed of a bright and hopeful future in Metropolis with Lana and as Superman, Luthor schemed. With the Gods seemingly at his back.

Luthor had Asabi "borrow" the restraints Nick claimed could hold Superboy. He had taken them, the kryptonite and a number of Nick's micro-weapons to Metropolis for safekeeping. Luthor could have had the items hidden in Capitol City or Smallville but Clark, as Superboy, patrolled both towns and might notice what Asabi was up to. Right now Superboy was not patrolling Metropolis though he'd move there in a few months. This gave Asabi the perfect opportunity to locate an old underground subway station. Long abandoned, it was surrounded by old lead pipes and hidden away from the teeming city just 150 feet above. The irony here was that no one, besides Superboy and Professor Peterson, knew that Superboy's X-ray vision couldn't penetrate lead. Luthor had gotten lucky in selecting the lead-shielded subway station as his Metropolis base.

In many universes Superboy had been killed before he took on the Superman name. In many others, a young Superman had been killed by any number of a string of cunning enemies very shortly after his debut. An affirmation of just how lethal kryptonite was to Kryptonians.

Only in a few worlds did a Superman emerge and have a long career. It was not guaranteed and somewhat of a rarity. In fact, Superman emerged and had a long career mostly in those worlds where kryptonite was very rare. This Earth was not one of those worlds. Unknown to Clark, the recent near miss of a meteor over Russia had spewed hundreds and more small pieces of the deadly rock over the Russian tundra.

The beginning of the end?


	2. A Subway Lair

**A Subway Lair**

Clark's parents and Lana were happy but worried too about Clark's move to Metropolis and his decision to announce to the world he was now Superman and Metropolis was his home base. The big city meant more crime and, of particular worry, more enemies to be made as Superman attempted to control that crime and put it's perpetrators in jail. These weren't small-town criminals, they were big-time crime lords. Metropolis was the home to the infamous Intergang after all.

But Clark kept reminding them that he was virtually invulnerable. Nothing, no one could hurt him. Even Luthor – now that he had hurled the last piece of known kryptonite into space where it had burned up. The only two pieces remaining on Earth were locked away. One in Professor Peterson's lab in Central City and the other in a lead-lined box Clark kept in a hidden closet in his apartment. Clark allowed these two pieces to remain on Earth as Professor Peterson spoke of the possibility of developing an antidote to kryptonite poisoning. On top of which, Clark, as Superboy, had personally checked out Addis Ababa at Professor Peterson's suggestion. Fortunately none of the deadly meteorites had landed there as the Professor had suspected. Clark had made sure of that - scanning the area a dozen times without finding anything. Unbeknownst to the young hero however, Asabi has beaten him to Addis Ababa by several months and found a dozen fist-sized pieces of the meteorite. Taking them back with him to Central City for Luthor's ultimate use.

The only thing left undone was, as usual, Luthor. Somehow he had gotten an early out from prison and seemingly disappeared since then. Clark assumed he would move far away so he would never have to tangle with the young superhero again. But Clark would keep an ear out and, if he ever heard of Luthor causing trouble, he would make sure he was put in prison again.

Clark and Lana had graduated from Shuster University in May. They planned to take the month of June to make the move to Metropolis where Clark had a job waiting in the internet/online division of the Daily Planet and Lana planned to attend graduate school at Welling University. Clark tentatively planned to announce his transformation to Superman in August once both he and Lana were settled in. Of course Luthor, who had bugged Clark's apartment, knew this timetable too. It meant he had to carry out his ultimate attack on the young Boy of Steel before August. Luthor knew Clark's most deepest desire was to announce himself to the world as Superman and Luthor could not, would not allow that to happen.

Luthor had beaten Clark to Metropolis. After his early release from prison, Luthor had quietly moved to Metropolis and joined Asabi in the new home he had found for them. An abandoned subway station 100 feet below the streets above. Not what most would want to call home, but it was perfect for what Luthor had planned. Additionally, on a tip from Knick Knack, Luthor had learned two critical facts about Superboy that would help insure he would be successful this time in destroying the alien interloper.

At first Luthor had scoffed at Knick Knack's claim that a metal existed, not kryptonite, that Superboy couldn't break free from. Knick Knack had arranged a demonstration for Luthor shortly after Luthor's prison release. A bomb encased in this mysterious metal was placed in Capitol City's Central Park. Superboy was lured there by a phone tip. Hidden at a far corner of the park with binoculars was Luthor. When Superboy arrived he scanned the box and determined there was indeed a bomb inside. Telling the police to get back, he moved to tear the box open but - Luthor had to look twice to believe it - the Boy of Steel was having trouble opening the box. His face grimaced and he grunted as he pulled and prodded, but the box did not give. Finally, in desperation, Superboy took to the skies and carried the box a thousand feet into the air where a muffled explosion was heard. As if to prove Knick's point, the explosive power inside the box was enough to bring down a city block, but it didn't dent the box at all. It was indeed a "super-metal" to counter a Superboy.

Lex later paid a high price, but managed to get a large quantity of the metal from Knick Knack. Enough to restrain the Boy of Steel when the time came.

Equally important was Knick's claim that Superboy couldn't see through lead. Luthor thought to himself he couldn't have been this lucky. The subway station was hidden by rotting lead pipes. Knick told Luthor of the first time he encountered Superboy. He was working on toy monkeys that played drums and then exploded giving off a knock-out gas. He had one in a lead box once when Superboy burst into his workshop. Superboy had slipped and asked "What's in the box Knick?" Knick had replied, "Surely a Superboy like yourself can see through this little box." But apparently not - Superboy had taken the box from Knick and opened it. The toy drummer exploded spraying Superboy with knock-out gas which, of course, did not affect him. But Knick had inadvertently learned one of Superboy's most closely held secrets and Luthor now knew it too.

All that remained for Luthor now was to develop an effective delivery system for the kryptonite. Laying pieces at around Superboy while he was restrained would ultimately kill Superboy, but Luthor didn't know how long that would take and how long he would be alone in the subway with the restrained Superboy before someone discovered what was going on. It was too similar to his previous attempts to kill Superboy - none of which had succeeded.

No, the key was to get the kryptonite inside the Boy of Steel's body. The only way to do that is a liquefied form that could be poured down his mouth or rubbed into his skin or a gaseous form that could be forced into his lungs.

It was early June, Luthor had several weeks to develop these two forms of kryptonite. He was sure he could do it and he had to if he was to bring an end to the alien by the end of July.

Just then Asabi walks up to Luthor holding a vial with a green liquid in it.

"I think we've done it sir." was all Asabi said.

Luthor smiled and said "One down, one to go".

**Please, please leave a review. Even if it is a short shot out. Criticize, praise. Makes no never mind. The reviews are what give me the impetus to write more**


	3. Author's Notes: Please Read

I've had several PM's asking me to post some information on the Superboy TV series, so here goes.

This story, as noted, is based on a long-forgotten gem of a little TV series. The Adventures of Superboy.

The series ran from 1989 through 1992 and was a top-rated syndicated show for its last 3 years. Though it had high ratings, it was canceled to make way for ABC's Lois and Clark. 100 episodes were made. It starred John Newton as Superboy in season 1 and Gerard Christopher as Superboy in seasons 2 - 4.

As originally planned the series was to run for a season 5 and 6, but L&C derailed that. The next plan was to do a string of made-for-TV Superboy movies. They would key off the final episode of the TV series in which Luthor finally succeeds in killing Superboy. There was a tentative draft apparently of that shocking episode though Gerard Christopher nor anyone else involved with the series has ever given details of the unmade last episode.

The series was never re-aired in reruns because of the legal issues surrounding DC's ownership of Superboy, recently resolved, and conflict between Viacom, Paramount and WB who were all collaborators in the series.

The series is actually quite good especially in seasons 3 and 4.

The reference to Knick Knack are to a character who appeared in several episodes. An updated and more sophisticated version of Toyman who created some deadly toys that even challenged Superboy. In one episode he found a metal that Superboy could not break. The cool thing, for me anyway, is I don't like it always having to be kryptonite that brings down Superboy/Superman and prefer that other ways, besides K., are discovered to at least slow down and perhaps even harm Kal.

Till recently only bootleg copies of Superboy were available. But season 1 was formally released in 2006. Season 2 was recently released at WB On Demand. Meaning its a basic DVD with no features and not available in stores.

If this piques your interest in the TV series, check out WB On Demand and purchase season 2 of Superboy. 25 episodes (10 1/2 hours) which includes some excellent episodes. Its well worth the price.

Gerard Christopher wants to see seasons 3 and 4 released and would like to do a full DVDs with special features and all for all 4 seasons. Ironically, he owns the master tapes of the series.

For more information on the TV series check out the Superboy Home Theatre. I'd post a link but I think that violates rules.


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